Business Opportunity - Understanding Customer Needs


Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5 Lesson 6

Lesson Objectives

  • Know the importance of research
  • Understand the difference between primary & secondary research
  • Be able to design a simple questionnaire



Starter (5 minutes)

Answer the questions



Key Terms (5 minutes)

Primary Research - New information which you gather yourself
Secondary Research - Information you gather from existing sources
Qualitative data - This is opinions, judgments & attitudes
Quantitative data - Data which can be analysed - yes/no answers, ratings etc
Demographics - A particular sector of the population

==

Information/Discussion (20 mins)


Understanding Customer Needs
A customers needs are the things they want to satisfy them. This may be cost, location, convenience, range, quality, service etc. Before starting any business it is important to understand your customer needs in order to give customer satisfaction.

Market Research
Before starting a new business the market should be carefully researched to establish if there is a need for the business, who the customers might be and what they are likely to pay for your goods/services

Primary research - New information which you gather yourself. May include
  • Surveys
  • Questionnaires
  • Focus groups
  • Observations
  • Experiments
  • Interviews

Secondary research - Information which is already available. May include
  • Finding similar businesses
  • Looking for online competitors
  • Reading local newspapers
  • Looking for demographic information about your customers

Direct Customer Contact
Once the business is up and running the owner must listen to customer feedback as this will be vital in giving them market knowledge.

Interpreting Data
Once a business has gathered data it must analyse it and draw conclusions from the results. If the qualitative data reveals any needs/desires the business has not anticipated the business should act upon it. The overall results should confirm if the anticipated demand for the business really exists.

Task (25 mins)

Design a Questionnaire using Google Forms to gather some primary research about food outlets on Canvey Island.

Remember to start with Demographic questions

Plenary (5 mins)

Give your neighbour feedback on their form